This invention relates to the methods and devices to reduce power consumption in on-off communication devices for intermittent message reception.
The present invention pertains to the class of digital communication devices which receive messages according to an intermittent schedule known to the receiver and where power saving is important. Examples of devices belonging to this class are pagers, and battery-operated cellular phones operating in standby mode awaiting a page from a base station announcing an incoming call. A cellular phone may also receive short user information messages in the same way that pagers do.
During reception of the message in an active mode, the communication device is fully active and a relatively high timer clock frequency is required to support the digital processing of the device. Between scheduled message receptions the device typically enters a sleep mode during the inactive periods between message receptions. During sleep mode virtually all components of the communication device except for the system timer are powered down to minimize power consumption. The system timer is needed to maintain system time and terminate sleep mode for the next scheduled message reception. Because sleep mode typically has a very high duty cycle, it is important that the sleep timer itself have very low power consumption during sleep mode. Accordingly, prior art recognizes the virtue of low power timers for sleep mode. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,005xe2x80x94-DeLuca et. al. (1989) describes the use of a real-time sleep timer programmed to turn on the receiver and a higher frequency timer to process the scheduled message. The oscillator for a real-time clock typically utilizes a low frequency 32.768 kilohertz crystal termed a watch crystal owing to the low frequency of the watch crystal oscillator timer consumption during sleep mode can be as low as 5 microamperes with present day integrated circuit technology. In contrast a separate, much higher frequency, reference oscillator is needed for the timer during active mode to support high speed timing digital processing for message reception. Typical battery consumption for present day reference oscillators in cellular phones is approximately 2 milliamperes.
A recent patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,235, Kivari et al., acknowledges the importance of the synchronization factor in design for power savings and advances the state of art by an invention that is relevant specifically to first generation cellular phones as known in the art. First generation cellular phones are the analog AMPS standard and digital derivatives thereof. Kivari et al. provide for an apparatus for compensation of synchronization error by method of oscillator calibration. That is, the sleep mode oscillator is calibrated relative to the higher frequency accurate active mode oscillator to estimate the frequency error of the sleep oscillator. The cumulative sleep mode timing error is then removed at the beginning of active mode based on the estimated frequency error. The general methodology of using oscillator calibration to compensate the shortcomings of in inaccurate timer is however not new to the Kivari patent and has been applied in other applications, as can be seen, for example, in the reference, xe2x80x9cLow Power Timekeepingxe2x80x9d, M. Bloch, M. Meirs, J. Ho, J. R. Vig, and S. S. Schodowski, 1989 IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium.
While Kivari et al. assert the power saving advantages in the use of a low-frequency oscillator for the sleep timer, they say nothing about the attendant drawbacks, specifically inherently poor frequency accuracy or stability. In general low frequency oscillators have a larger frequency error relative to higher frequency reference oscillators and consequently a large system timer error accrues during sleep mode. When the communication device switches to active mode to receive a scheduled message the accumulated sleep mode timing error represents synchronization error during message reception. When synchronization error exceeds a predetermined amount, the receiver is unable to demodulate the burst message and loss of synchronization is said to occur. Under condition of loss of synchronization, a process of reacquisition which involves the processing of extraneous transmissions from the message sources such as synchronization bursts is required before reception of the desired message is possible. Allowance for the overhead of reacquisition at the beginning of active mode requires that the receiver transition out of the low-power sleep mode and into the high-power active mode sooner. In this way sleep mode timing inaccuracy imposes a power consumption penalty in active mode. Generally, the problem of maintaining synchronization becomes more difficult as the symbol rate increases. This is because for a given loss-of-synchronization criterion expressed in message symbols the corresponding timing accuracy needed becomes smaller as the data rate increases. A recent worldwide trend toward higher data rates for communication devices such as cellular phones makes the loss of synchronization by the sleep timer an increasingly important factor with respect to power savings.
The invention of Kivari et al. while adequate specifically for first generation cellular phones does not generally address the synchronization problem for the higher data rates of second generation cellular phones and beyond. Second generation cellular phones as known in the art are the present day phones as defined by standards bodies from the ground up as purely digital phones and the GSM worldwide standard is an example. Third generation phones as known in the art are now being defined by international standards bodies and are characterized by bandwidths that are much wider than is needed for voice communications to address future data communication needs. Shortcomings of the prior art of Kivari et. al. for current second generation phones and soon-to-appear third generation phones are as follows: (1) there is no provision for normal temperature changes and related oscillator recalibration management; (2) there is no provision for application of calibration compensation to the sleep mode timer during sleep mode; and (3) the sleep mode timer structure requires that the higher frequency reference oscillator be an integer multiple of the low frequency sleep oscillator.
The prior art does not maintain system timing accuracy during sleep mode. To see the shortcomings of prior art for current second generation cellular phones by way of numerical example, the GSM (Group Speciale Mobile) worldwide standard which has a symbol rate of 272 KHz and a maximum paging interval of 2.1 seconds. A typical GSM receiver will lose synchronization, i.e., be unable to demodulate a message burst, if the synchronization error exceeds four symbols. Accumulation of timing error less than four-symbols in the sleep or paging interval requires a sleep timer frequency error of better than 7 ppm (parts per million). In a practical design half that error or 3.5 ppm would be budgeted for the low-frequency oscillator to allow for other sources of synchronization error such as residual time tracking error at the time of the previous message. A typical low frequency oscillator such as a real time clock oscillator has a temperature dependent frequency excursion of approximately 84 ppm over the typical operating range of +/xe2x88x9235 degrees C. about room temperature That is, if the temperature of the cellular phone ranged from minimum to maximum operating temperature with a requirement of better than 3.5 ppm accuracy for the sleep timer, the sleep timer would need to be re-calibrated 84/3.5 or 24 times. Recalibration of the sleep timer requires continual active mode operation of the high-frequency high power consumption oscillator during calibration and typical calibration time for the GSM example is approximately 4 to 8 seconds. During standby mode for GSM the paging message bursts are only 4.6 milliseconds in duration, and the duty cycle for paging messages is as low as 0.0011 so that calibration incurs overhead in power consumption that should only be performed when necessary.
The preceding numerical example teaches the importance of management of the calibration of the sleep timer for power conservation. On the one hand calibration must be performed when oscillator frequency error becomes excessive or demodulation of the message will fail. But on the other hand unnecessary calibration incurs power waste by prolonging active mode just for calibration. The determination of when to calibrate in an operational environment when normal temperature changes can invalidate a prior oscillator calibration is critical to the successful application of the calibration methodology for compensating sleep oscillator frequency error. The invention of Kivari et al. does not address the critical issue of calibration management for a changing temperature environment.
The basic timer structure in the invention of Kivari et. al. has the drawback that compensation for sleep oscillator timing error accumulated during sleep mode cannot be applied until active mode because the reference oscillator must be powered up to apply the correction. A more useful sleep timer structure is one in which the sleep timer is continually compensated to account for the estimated frequency error of the sleep oscillator from oscillator calibration. In this way system time can be maintained accurately during sleep mode and used for accurate scheduling of power management even during sleep mode and for terminating sleep mode. For example, active mode cannot begin until the high-frequency oscillator for the active mode timer has been powered up in advance for settling time. The receiver synthesizer may also be powered up in advance of start of active mode to allow for settling time. Without such accurate scheduling the powering up of components in preparation for active mode must be started earlier to compensate for unknown sleep timer error accumulation.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is a sleep timer that uses a very low frequency oscillator which incurs very low power consumption during sleep mode.
Another object of the present invention is to overcome the inherent time inaccuracy attendant with low frequency clocks.
A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic calibration algorithm which uses oscillator calibration to estimate the frequency error.
Still another object of the invention is to continually compensate in the sleep timer so that system time is accurately maintained through sleep mode.
Yet another object of the invention is to maintain synchronism of system time with received messages so that in active mode reacquisition and associated penalty in power consumption is not incurred.
A particular advantage of the present invention is that it provides for management of re-calibration wherein the occurrence of significant change in frequency error due to temperature change that could lead to loss of synchronization is sensed and recalibration initiated. In this way re-calibration which itself incurs power drain is invoked only when warranted. The prior art does not address this need.
The invention also provides an alternative method of compensation for temperature changes wherein the initial calibration as described above is used as an initial condition for the compensation. Thereafter, the compensation term is updated by a tracking loop with each message reception, where the update is feedback from an estimate of the low frequency oscillator frequency error. The frequency error estimate is computed from a long term average based on time tracking loop updates. This novel method of compensation for sleep oscillator error does not require oscillator re-calibration so that power consumption overhead is incurred only in the initial oscillator calibration.
Still another advantage of the invention over prior art is its generality. The communication device and its timer design applies to any intermittent communication system that utilizes a framing structure for the scheduling of messages. The frequency of the reference oscillator and sleep oscillator is arbitrary in contrast to the timer presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,425 by Kivari et al. wherein the timer structure required that the reference oscillator frequency be a multiple of the sleep oscillator frequency. That is an important consideration when other constraints determine the oscillator frequencies. For example, the sleep timer oscillator may be a watch crystal with specific frequency 32.768 KHz selected because it serves a dual purpose in supporting real time clock oscillator as well as sleep oscillator. The reference oscillator frequency may be picked because of its suitability for a communications standard. For example 13 MHz and 26 MHz are almost universally used as reference oscillator frequencies for GSM cellular phones.
Yet another advantage of the invention is that the structure of the timer supports a general real-time scheduling structure for processing events for the communication device. The scheduling is precise and the event can occur either during sleep mode or active mode because system time is maintained accurately continually as the device switches back and forth between sleep and active modes. Such real-time processing events are useful, for example, for precise timing in sequential powering up of portions of the receiver such as frequency synthesizer power up prior to active mode reception and also in precise termination of sleep mode itself. The timer also has provision for premature termination of sleep mode due to keypad interrupt by the user prior to scheduled termination without degradation of the timer accuracy in maintaining system time.
The system of the present invention operates a communication device with reduced power consumption wherein the communication device receives radio signals containing intermittently scheduled digital messages and comprises receiver means that provide for frequency downconversion of said radio signal and demodulation of said digital messages; controller data processing means that provide for data processing of the demodulated message data to extract the messages, said data processing including decoding, deinterleaving, and parity checking, and extraction of control data, specifically designation of system time for message arrivals. A dual mode timer for extending battery life that uses a reference oscillator having a voltage controlled crystal oscillator means to generate a reference clock, wherein the frequency of said reference clock is high enough to serve as clocking requirements for digital processing in the receiver and controller, and wherein the frequency of said reference clock is responsive to input of an automatic frequency control word to the reference oscillator, and
a sleep oscillator that generates a free-running sleep clock with a very low frequency and wherein power consumption of the sleep oscillator is very low relative to the power consumption of the reference oscillator;
storage means to contain a controller microprocessor program and data memory and register data memory; and
controller means to supervise operation of the components of the communication device, particularly operations and algorithms that relate to power savings, wherein said supervision is executed by microprocessor operation with program memory contained in said storage means.
In accordance with the invention, the controller means includes
controller scheduling means that schedules commands for supervision of the communication device, particularly as relates to power savings, by writing command records to an event scheduler,
controller frequency tracking means that provide for conventional automatic frequency control wherein the received downconverted signal is processed to generate a frequency control word for the reference oscillator at the rate of once per message reception such that the frequency of the reference oscillator clock is frequency-locked to the received signal,
controller time tracking means that process received signal samples to estimate system time error to serve as a tracking loop error discriminant and generates a feedback control word for adjustment of system time such that system time error is nullified by servomechanism principles,
controller timer calibration algorithm that supervises automatic oscillator calibration of said sleep oscillator relative to said reference oscillator, uses data from said oscillator calibration to compute the correct sleep counter increment, and writes said increment into the sleep increment register,
controller sleep mode adjustment algorithm which provides for computation of a correction term for system time to account for residual frame remaining in the sleep counter at the end of sleep mode and writes the correction term to reference counter modulus register at the beginning of active mode,
controller message processing means that provide for conventional data processing of a demodulated message, including decoding, deinterleaving, and extraction of command message data that indicates schedule of system time for message arrivals;
In accordance with the present invention, the dual mode timer continually maintains system time while operating in one of two modes, an active mode or a sleep mode. The timer comprises a reference counter, a reference counter modulus register, a frame counter, a frame counter modulus register, a sleep counter, a sleep increment register, a multiframe counter, mode switch means, mode control logic, and event scheduler means.
The reference counter is provider for modulus counter means that counts cycles of the reference clock up to a modulus value stored in said reference counter modulus register and resets to zero at the next clock count, the reference counter generating system time during active mode in units of reference clock number represented by the current value in the reference counter. The reference counter generates a frame epoch output at the time of said reset. The reference counter also generates shifts in system time in units of reference clock cycles when a modulus value other than nominal is written to the reference counter modulus register.
The sleep counter provides for accumulator means that successively sums a fractional number, or sleep counter increment stored in said sleep increment register by said controller calibration algorithm, wherein the sleep increment is equal to the number of frames per sleep oscillator cycle. The accumulator means successively adds the sleep increment register value, but retains only the fractional part of accumulation and generates an integer carry epoch each time an integer carry occurs in the accumulation. The sleep counter is clocked by the sleep clock so that accumulation occurs at the rate of the sleep clock frequency. The integer carry epochs generated by the sleep counter therefore represent frame boundary epochs.
The frame counter provides for modulus counter means that counts input frame epochs generated by either the reference counter or the sleep counter, wherein the selection thereof is dictated by said mode switch means. The mode switch has two switch states, one state representing active mode when the frame epoch source is the reference counter and the other switch state representing sleep mode when the frame epoch source is the sleep counter. The mode switch is responsive to the mode control logic. The frame counter maintains continuity of count through changes in the mode switch state. The frame counter counts up to the modulus value contained in said frame counter modulus register and resets back to zero at the next clock cycle. The frame counter generates a multiframe epoch at each frame counter reset, the frame counter thereby generating system time in units of frame number in either active mode or sleep mode as represented by the current frame counter value.
The multiframe counter provides modulus counter means to count up to the modulus value stored in said multiframe modulus register and resets back to zero on the next count.
System time is defined in active mode as the triple (reference clock number, frame number, multiframe number) corresponding respectively to current count of the three registers (reference counter, frame counter, multiframe counter), and similarly defined in sleep mode except that reference clock number is undefined and ignored during sleep mode, system time being continuously generated as the mode switch alternates its state between active and sleep mode.
The event scheduler means provide registers for records of scheduled events, each scheduled event comprising a command word that initiates a processing event and the scheduled system time for execution of said command, the event scheduler continually monitoring system time for a match with the scheduled time in any of the records, said match causing execution of the command in the record for which the match occurs, the types of scheduled commands including
commands to the power controller means to selectively power up or power down components of the communication device at specified event times,
commands to the mode control logic to switch the state of the mode switch from active mode to sleep mode or to switch the state from sleep mode to active mode at specified event times,
command to generate interrupts to execute controller algorithms and operations such as controller time tracking means, controller frequency tracking means, controller timer calibration algorithm, controller sleep mode adjustment algorithm, and controller message processing means,
command for receiver downconversion and demodulation of a scheduled message.
The mode control logic is responsive to the command from event scheduler to transition from active mode to sleep mode at a specified event time, at the instant of said event time resets the sleep counter to zero count and at time of uptick of the first sleep oscillator cycle following the first reference generator frame epoch following the event time gates off the clock input of the reference counter and simultaneously causes mode switch state to transition from active mode to sleep mode. The mode control logic is responsive to the command from the event scheduler to transition from sleep mode to active mode at a specified event time, at the time of first uptick of the first sleep oscillator cycle following said event time gates on the clock input of the reference counter and simultaneously causes the mode switch state to change from sleep mode to active mode.
The controller scheduler means writes command records to the event scheduler, which records effect power savings in the communication device by scheduling events that realize full benefits of power saving features of the invention. The scheduler means contain program memory in the storage means, the records including
a first command to cause execution of controller timer calibration algorithm, scheduled for shortly after turn on of communication device, said command to provide for calculation of correct value of sleep counter increment to compensate for sleep oscillator error, thereby enabling synchronous operation of the communication device,
a second command to execute controller sleep mode adjustment algorithm, scheduled for immediately following termination of sleep mode (start of active mode) and prior to first frame epoch in active mode, thereby limiting accumulation of system time error during sleep mode to less than one reference oscillator cycle, and thereby enabling synchronous operation of the communication device,
a third command to cause controller means to execute the time track algorithm to update time tracking, scheduled for end of each active mode interval, thereby avoiding possible accumulation of system time error due to repetitive occurrences of sleep mode, and thereby enabling synchronous operation of the communication device,
down conversion commands to receiver means to perform downconversion and synchronous demodulation and controller means to process received message, with event time coinciding with message arrival times, with no requirement to schedule reception and controller processing for reacquisition owing to synchronous operation of the communication device, thereby minimizing power consumption for signal processing during active mode,
power commands to the power controller to selectively power up components of the communication device only when needed, where event times are precisely designated so that power up intervals are the minimum interval required, as enabled by synchronous operation of the communication device, thereby avoiding power waste on timing margins that compensate for system time uncertainties, and
mode controller commands to the mode controller to change state of the mode switch into and out of active mode with corresponding event times specified such that sleep mode duty cycle with low power consumption is maximized and active mode duty cycle with relatively high power consumption is minimized, as made possible by the synchronous operation of the communication device.
The system of the present invention utilizes a low power low frequency sleep oscillator during sleep mode thereby incurring lowest power consumption during sleep mode, and maintains synchronous operation with respect to received messages despite inherent frequency inaccuracies of the low power low frequency sleep oscillator used for clocking the timer during sleep mode, thereby substantially reducing power consumption in active mode by eliminating overhead for reacquisition of system time when entering active mode. Accurate system time is maintained continuously during sleep mode to an error less than a sleep clock cycle, as made possible by calibration of sleep mode increment counter, thereby enabling precise scheduling of power on intervals spanning both active and sleep mode, thereby avoiding power waste to compensate for system time uncertainties.
In accordance with the present invention, to achieve the system for power savings, there is further provided means for automatic calibration of the timer in an environment of changing temperature, including:
temperature sensing means for obtaining temperature measurements of the low-frequency oscillator; a calibration table maintained in non-volatile memory in the storage means such that the table is initially empty at power up of the communication device, the calibration table thereafter holding calibration records, each record comprised of sleep increment value calculated from sleep oscillator calibration data and temperature of the sleep oscillator during said calibration, and a method for automatic calibration of the timer. Initially after power up of the communication device, the controller schedules the timer calibration algorithm, and temperature measurement at time of calibration, to generate the first record for the calibration table and an initial value for the sleep increment in the sleep increment register. Thereafter temperature measurement is performed periodically at a pre-specified period, wherein if temperature remains constant no re-calibration is required and no action is taken. If temperature changes and the new temperature is in a record in the calibration table the corresponding calibration value for sleep increment is loaded into the sleep increment register, thereby re-calibrating the sleep timer for the new temperature. If temperature changes and the new temperature is not in a record in the calibration table, the controller schedules the calibration algorithm to obtain a new calibration value, the pair of new temperature and new calibration value entered as a new record in the calibration table, and the new calibration value is written to the sleep increment register, thereby re-calibrating the sleep timer for the new temperature. The automatic calibration of timer for temperature change continually maintains the correct value of sleep increment in the timer, thereby preserving accurate system time and synchronous operation of the communication device, thereby preserving the power savings of the invention in an environment of changing temperature. The utilization of memory of the calibration table in a changing temperature environment to reuse applicable prior calibration data thereby avoids unnecessary new oscillator calibrations that incur active mode overhead and associated waste of power.
Means are provided for automatic calibration of the timer in an environment of changing temperature and include a real-time clock with backup battery that operates continually through power down of the communication device; temperature sensing means for obtaining temperature measurement of the low-frequency oscillator; a calibration table maintained in non-volatile memory in the storage means such that at power up of the communication device, contents of the calibration table present just prior to power down of the communication device remain intact at power up of the communication device, the calibration table holding calibration records, each record comprised of a sleep increment value obtained by the controller sleep oscillator calibration algorithm and a temperature measurement of the sleep oscillator at the time of said oscillator calibration, and a method for automatic calibration of the timer wherein initially after first power up of the communication device, a time stamp is affixed to the calibration table, said time stamp indicating an expiration time that is a pre-specified interval of time into the future, where said prespecified interval is an aging allowance for the table, the controller schedules the timer calibration algorithm, and schedules temperature measurement at time of said calibration, to generate the first record for the calibration table and an initial value for the sleep increment in the sleep increment register. Thereafter temperature measurement is performed periodically at a pre-specified period. If temperature remains constant, no re-calibration is required and no action is taken.
If temperature changes and the new temperature is in a record in the calibration table the corresponding calibration value in said record is loaded into the sleep increment register, thereby re-calibrating the sleep timer for the new temperature;
If temperature changes and the new temperature is not in a record in the calibration table, the controller schedules the sleep oscillator calibration algorithm to obtain a new calibration value, and schedules a new temperature measurement, the pair of new temperature and new calibration value entered as a new record in the calibration table, and the new calibration value written to the sleep increment register, thereby re-calibrating the sleep timer for the new temperature.
At subsequent power up of the communication device, if the time stamp of the calibration table has expired, the calibration table is purged and new time stamp affixed with new expiration time, and said calibration method resumes as in initial power up of the communication device, thereby ensuring that invalidation of calibration data in the calibration table due to aging of the sleep oscillator crystal does not occur. If the time stamp of the calibration table has not expired the calibration method resumes as in initial power-up of the calibration method but now generally starting with a non-empty calibration table. The automatic calibration of timer for temperature change continually maintains the correct value of sleep increment in the timer, thereby preserving accurate system time and synchronous operation of the communication device, thereby preserving the power savings in accordance with the teachings of the invention in an environment of changing temperature. The utilization of memory of the calibration table in a changing temperature environment to reuse applicable prior calibration data thereby avoids unnecessary new oscillator calibrations that incur active mode overhead and associated waste of power.
The system for power savings of the present invention further includes means for automatic calibration of the timer in an environment of changing temperature, including:
estimator means for estimation of fractional frequency offset of sleep oscillator based on averaging of the time tracking loop updates during an active mode interval,
a controller calibration tracking loop algorithm that utilizes said estimator means as a track loop discriminant to generate a feedback correction term for the sleep increment value in the sleep increment register such that errors in sleep increment value are nullified by control loop principles; and
method for automatic calibration of the timer wherein at initial power up of the communication device the controller calibration algorithm is scheduled to generate the correct initial sleep increment value and write said increment value to the sleep increment register, thereafter at each active mode interval, said increment value in said sleep increment register updated by scheduling of said controller calibration track loop algorithm at the end of each active mode interval,
thereby continually maintaining the correct value of sleep increment in the timer, thereby preserving accurate system time and synchronous operation of the communication device, and thereby preserving the power savings in accordance with the teachings of the present invention in an environment of changing temperature.
The present invention provides for a system for operating a communication device for reception of scheduled intermittent messages, wherein a dual mode timer is used to extend battery life. A controller powers down all idle components of the device between message receptions in a power saving sleep mode to conserve battery power. During active mode when the device is fully active in reception of messages the timer uses a reference oscillator with a relatively high frequency to support digital processing by the receiver. During sleep mode the timer uses a much lower frequency sleep oscillator to maintain the lowest possible level of power consumption within the timer itself. The timer provides for automatic calibration and compensation for the inaccuracies inherent to low-power low-frequency crystal oscillators used for sleep mode. The resultant improvement in timer accuracy during sleep mode minimizes or eliminates the need for an initial reacquisition period in the active mode interval thereby reducing power consumption during active mode as well.